


(Don't) leave your mark on me

by crayyyonn



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 08:04:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8393716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayyyonn/pseuds/crayyyonn
Summary: One piercing, Youngjae could deal with. But seven of them plus a broken arm is crossing the damn line. Or, the soulmate AU where whatever happens to the body of one half of a soulmate pair happens to the other. Youngjae really wishes it wouldn't.





	

The first time it happens, Youngjae thinks nothing of it. 

It’s just a pair of lobe piercings after all, and he’s been meaning to get one (or three) anyway. Still in the middle of class, he’d hastily texted Yugyeom, and once school let out, had headed to the nearest mall together. Bambam was the one who picked out Youngjae’s very first pair of earrings—silver cuffs with a nice weight to them, nothing fancy. His mom, when he shows them off to her, jokes that she’s going to have to give away her precious son to a rebel type, pretending to shed a tear. Youngjae just laughs. 

It's the last time he does.

 

The second time, Youngjae isn’t any more prepared for it than the first, partly because not many people he knew in Mokpo had anything more than one piercing adorning each ear, and partly because he feels three pricks in succession, two on his left and one on his right. They still didn’t hurt much, and after he’s stuck some of his spare jewelry in them, look pretty nice. 

Yugyeom, by then sporting rings in his own ears—by choice, not destiny—widens his eyes exaggeratedly when he shows them off over the weekend, asking him if his soulmate is one of _those._

“You know, they type who corner you in dark alleyways and beat you up when you don't have money,” he says in a hushed whisper, like they aren't currently in broad daylight and the safety of his own room. 

To which Youngjae frowns, taking offense even though it’s something he’s been thinking about ever since the piercings materialized on his ears. 

“I’m sure he’s a decent and upstanding young man who contributes more than his fair share to society,” he replies loftily, unaware of the way he had just casually come out to his neighbor and childhood friend until it’s too late. 

Suffice to say they had a lot more to discuss than Youngjae’s piercings after that. 

 

The third time comes a few years later, a year after Youngjae, and subsequently Yugyeom and Bambam’s move to Seoul for college. He’s been spending the past day and a half learning the ropes in LOL and leveling up as quickly as he can before the term starts officially, when the stinging pain in his ear makes him drop his mouse and clamp a hand to it. Cursing, he runs to the bathroom to look in the mirror and sure enough, there is not one, but two freshly pierced holes at the top of his right ear. The lower one has a spot of blood on it. 

“Whoever you are, fuck you!” Youngjae yells, going as far as to stamp his feet a little. Lobe piercings, he can take, but when they start messing with cartilage, that’s where he draws the line. “You better hope I never meet you, you motherfucker,” he grumbles, before texting Yugyeom to meet him at the lobby because _my idiot of a soulmate just punched more holes into his ear!!! Again!!1!!1 >:(_

The quickness with which Yugyeom sends the crying laughing emoji makes him throw his snapback to the floor in a fit. 

Then he picks it up, dusts it off, and swears to get his revenge. 

 

“I’ve got it.” 

It’s a week later and Youngjae is lying sideways on the floor with his ear awkwardly submerged in a shallow bowl filled with warm saltwater, just as he’s advised by the internet. He’s tracking the developing crick in his neck and calculating how long he can stay unmoving in the same position when it hits him, the perfect way to exact revenge on an unsuspecting soulmate with a penchant for piercings. 

Piercings which are now infected, which okay, might have been because Youngjae couldn’t stop himself from touching them those first few days after getting them outfitted with titanium barbells from the nearest piercer in town. He’s not to blame though; all this wouldn’t have happened if his soulmate hadn’t been so trigger happy. Or whatever the equivalent for the needle is.

Plus they were shiny.

He shifts to get the pressure off his shoulder and neck, and so he has a direct line of sight to where Yugyeom and Bambam are lying against each other on his bed while they watch a sitcom. 

“I’m going to get a tattoo.” 

His friends get that look on their faces that he knows means they’re communicating with each other in their heads without even looking at each other before replying _no you’re not_ in unison. Some soulmate bonds are beyond freaky. 

“Oh I’m definitely going to.” 

“Hyung.” Hitting the space bar in the middle of a laugh track, Yugyeom moves closer to the edge of the bed and leans down so they’re almost face to face. “You hate pain. You’re never going to be able to get a tattoo.” 

Youngjae’s eyes narrow. How could they have so little confidence in him? “Watch me. I’m going to get the stupidest tattoo ever and everyone is going to laugh at my soulmate forever, just you wait and see. It’s perfect.” 

He grins maniacally, ignoring Bambam’s quiet _you do realize the stupidest tattoo ever will be on you too, right_ , feeling the water slosh dangerously over the rim of the bowl as he starts to laugh. His soulmate won’t know what hit him. It’s going to be great. 

 

The tattoo parlor is cleaner and brighter than he expected, and when Youngjae blurts the thought out to the tattooist who’s come to usher him into the private work space in the back, he laughs, a slender-fingered hand coming up to cover his mouth. 

“Well, I can’t quite inject ink under your skin in the dark, can I?” 

He introduces himself as Jinyoung, and Youngjae has to take a second to reconcile the man in front of him with the person he’d imagined on his way downtown. With his fair skin, doe eyes, and dark, unstyled hair, he looks more like a college student than a tattoo artist. He doesn’t even have any piercings or tattoos, as far as Youngjae can tell. 

“I prefer leaving my mark on others, not having them on me,” Jinyoung says. “Besides, I’m not a fan of pain.” 

Youngjae starts. “I—I’m not—”

Jinyoung’s smile is kind. “You’re not the first one to wonder. Besides, you think so loudly it’s written all over your face.” He waves off Youngjae’s apologies. “So, have you decided on what you want to get?” 

Youngjae hasn’t. At Jinyoung’s probing _why not_ , he tells him about the piercings, the mark of a soulmate he has yet to meet and right now, has no intention to. He tells him how he’s never wanted any of them and how they won’t close even when he leaves out the jewelry, because his soulmate clearly does. He tells him about the infection, how these newest ones have been a bitch to heal. 

He tells him about wanting revenge, how, if his soulmate thinks he’ll take this mutilation lying down, he’s got another think coming. Jinyoung, who had hummed cryptically upon examining his ear, snickers. 

“I like the way you think, Youngjae,” he says. He rolls up his sleeves. “Well then, let’s get you a tattoo, shall we?” 

 

Except Jinyoung vetoes his suggestion of something obnoxious. 

“I can’t let you walk out of here with something stupidly permanent, what would people think? I have a reputation to maintain, after all.” 

Youngjae doesn’t quite believe him, given the Polaroids of gaudy heart outlines and cheesy quotes he’s seen lining the walls outside. But Jinyoung is the one who’s going under his skin with needles after all, so he doesn’t think he should contradict him much, if at all. 

They decide on a quote by Hippocrates in the end, something about life being temporary but art eternal. Jinyoung suggests it, telling him it’s a favorite of a friend of his, a film student attending the same university Youngjae goes to. It’s in Latin, and rendered in Jinyoung’s freehand lettering, beautiful. 

Once the stencil has been transferred onto his skin, Youngjae sits back and takes in the way the quote sits high on his bicep. There’s a slight arch to it, following the rounded muscle, and Jinyoung explains how the tattoo will shift with his movement, demonstrating by carefully manipulating his arm. Not finding any fault with it, Youngjae nods when Jinyoung asks him if he’s decided. 

“Let’s do this.” 

 

The first pricks of the needle hurt, but it isn’t so bad once he gets used to it. He watches in fascination as Jinyoung works, laying the ink just under his skin in precise layers, wiping blood off every few seconds. He was nervous in the beginning, but the hypnotic sound of the needle and the intense concentration radiating from Jinyoung calms him. 

The piece is relatively small so it isn’t long before Jinyoung is wiping down the tattoo for the last time, leaving fresh ink stark against Youngjae’s reddened skin. He slathers the tattoo in ointment, wraps it up in cling film, then announces that they’re done. 

“How did you find it?” Jinyoung asks as Youngjae flexes his arm, testing it out. There’s a dull throbbing at the area but it’s nothing he can’t handle, definitely not comparable to what he’d felt in his ear. He feels a little bitter about it. 

“Not as bad as I expected,” he replies, pouting a little in his disappointment, and Jinyoung claps him on his left shoulder with a laugh that’s simultaneously approving and amused. 

He’s walked through aftercare instructions for the tattoo and given a tube of ointment that he’s supposed to gently massage into the area twice a day to keep it moisturized. 

“And keep up with the soaks on your ear. It’s just a mild infection, nothing serious, and will heal in no time, but they’ll help speed up the healing process,” Jinyoung advises, waving off payment when Youngjae asks him about the price. “Nah, this one’s a freebie. Besides, you may find yourself back here soon enough.” 

He winks enigmatically at Youngjae, who grimaces. “I don’t think I’ll be getting another tattoo soon. Or ever.” 

Jinyoung just laughs. “It might not be for that. You’ll see!” 

 

When he shows it to Yugyeom, he whistles in admiration. “It actually looks pretty good, hyung.” 

“It does, doesn’t it,” Youngjae says, torn between feeling pleased that it’s well-received and disappointed that his soulmate doesn’t have a reason to hate it. 

At least he’s the one leaving his mark this time, and a permanent one at that. 

 

Youngjae’s ear ceases to bother him as the days pass. It still flares up, but only occasionally, and then only when he accidentally jostles it in the shower or rolls over in his sleep. His tattoo is also healing beautifully, and seems to have done the trick in stopping his soulmate from taking any liberties with their bodies. There hasn’t been any new surprise piercings so far, and for that, Youngjae is glad. 

He’s also finally grinded his way to level twenty-seven in LOL after countless sleepless nights subsisting on chips and diet soda, is coasting by in his classes for the semester, and has developed a casually flirtatious but satisfying relationship with the handsome barista at the campus coffee shop. In other words, life is going swell for him for once. 

Which of course means it’s only a matter of time before his arm breaks. 

He’s in the middle of his music theory lecture when it happens. The sudden flare of sharp, hot pain makes him cry out and clutch his arm, rudely waking up Hanbin. 

“What’s going on?” he asks sleepily. His eyes widen at Youngjae’s hunched posture. “Jae?” 

“I don’t know, my arm, it just started hurting, _fuck_ ,” he hisses through gritted teeth. 

With the professor’s permission, Hanbin brings him to the emergency room where he learns two things: one, that his arm has been fractured in two places in the humerus, and two, that the humerus is what the bone in his upper arm is called. The more you know. 

The doctor attending to him is a young man with a goatee that detracts slightly from his handsome face. “It just happened, you say?” he asks, pressing gentle fingers along his arm. When Youngjae nods in the affirmative, he hums contemplatively. “We’ve gotten a few cases like this in the past. Have you met your soulmate?” 

Youngjae blinks, shakes his head. “What has my soulmate got to do with this?” 

“Well, you know how soulmate signs manifest differently for everyone, right? Some get matching tattoos, some can hear each other in their minds, others can see their soulmate’s auras. I’m assuming this is yours, getting each other’s injuries. Anything that changes your body changes your soulmate’s too.” He points at Youngjae’s piercings. “Like those.” 

“These weren’t me,” he says sullenly, making the doctor chuckle. 

“Ah, I see. It’s one of the more unfortunate manifestations, but they do stop happening eventually, when your bond has been consummated and you’ve accepted each other as your other half.” 

Blanching, Youngjae says, “Consummated? As in…” 

The doctor nods, patting him on his uninjured shoulder. "Find your soulmate soon, Youngjae. That's the only way you'll be able to stop this.”

Oh he will. And then he’s going to kill him. 

 

Having his arm in a cast makes life greatly inconvenient, but at least the arm that was broken isn’t his dominant one. It’s not as bad as it could have been, Yugyeom tells him. He could at least be grateful for that. 

“Grateful? _Grateful?_ I’ve now got seven piercings I’ve never wanted and a broken arm, and you’re telling me to be grateful?” Youngjae isn’t proud of how shrill his voice gets, but he’s a music performance student majoring in piano with an arm that will be in a cast for at least a month, he thinks he has a right to feel upset. 

“It’ll heal, hyung,” Bambam says, predictably coming to Yugyeom’s defense. “Besides, he’s now got a tattoo he’s never wanted too, and it’s permanent, more so than your piercings or arm. You should be thinking about what you can do to find your soulmate, so you two can fix this.” 

The obscene gesture he follows it with makes Youngjae narrow his eyes and ready himself to retort. That's when a thought strikes him, giving him pause. His mouth shuts with a snap. Of course, why didn’t he think of it sooner?

“Oh, I know exactly what to do.” 

 

Jinyoung doesn’t look surprised to see him. In retrospect, that should have been his first clue. 

“Hello Youngjae,” he greets cheerfully from behind the front desk. “Back so soon?” 

“I want another tattoo,” Youngjae says without preamble. “And this time, I want something—”

He’s cut off by the door behind Jinyoung sliding open. Peeved at the interruption, Youngjae looks up to see a tall, dark-haired man who looks not much older than himself. From what Youngjae can see of his side profile, he seems good looking, although he radiates an intimidating aura that brings to mind leather jackets and rumbling bikes. 

There’s also a large bomber jacket slung over his shoulder, which is why Youngjae misses it at first. But it slides a little when he bends to hug Jinyoung, muttering something Youngjae doesn’t catch, and that’s when Youngjae sees it, his right arm in a stark white cast. Letting his gaze travel up past shoulder and neck and cheekbone, Youngjae freezes. 

The piercings glint in the bright fluorescent lights of the shop. Five of them; two at the top and another two on the lobes of his right ear. Youngjae is more than willing to bet everything he owns that there are three more in his left. 

“You!” Youngjae exclaims in fury, making the man look over at him, confused. A jolt runs through him when their eyes meet, the way books and movies and his own parents have told him it would. Youngjae sees the exact moment realization dawns on his soulmate.

“It’s you.” 

The hushed wonder in his voice, coupled with the slow way his lips curl up, sends Youngjae’s pulse skittering. Now that he can see his face, he realizes he's good looking. Very good looking. 

This time, he definitely notices the smug smirk on Jinyoung’s face.

“You knew?” It hits him then. “You did! That’s why you insisted on the quote!” 

Jinyoung holds out his hands, palms up. “Not for sure I didn’t, but I suspected after seeing your piercings. And then a day after you got it, Jaebum hyung showed me the tattoo.” 

So the older man's name is Jaebum. Youngjae files both pieces of information away, together with the sound of Jaebum’s voice and the moles above his left eye for good measure and... posterity.

“You didn’t say anything,” Jaebum is saying accusingly, before turning piercing eyes to Youngjae. He holds out a hand. “Im Jaebum.” 

For a second, Youngjae considers not taking it and leaving him hanging, but then sighs. 

“Choi Youngjae.” Except his surname comes out more like _twae_ , thanks to the electric sensation that runs up his arm at the touch of their palms. From the way Jaebum’s eyes widen, he feels it too. 

He smiles, flashing straight, white teeth, and Youngjae notices that his eyes curve attractively when he does.

“Nice to finally meet you,” he says, pumping Youngjae’s hand a few times. “Thanks for the ink. It’s my favorite quote.” 

At that, all the resentment he’s felt for his soulmate comes rushing back. He pulls his hand out of the (warm, smooth, right) grip and sullenly mutters, “Can’t say the same about the piercings.” 

“You don’t like them?” 

Jaebum seems genuinely surprised when he lifts his free hand to finger the piercings in his right ear. His are threaded with black and silver hoops, which Youngjae can’t deny look really good on him, in a subtly badass kind of way. Guess his mother was right, his soulmate _is_ a rebel type. 

He bites back the question at the tip of his tongue and shrugs. “The lobes are okay but the cartilage ones have been a pain to heal. But I don’t _hate_ them, not now, at least,” he rushes to clarify when Jaebum’s face falls. “I just, I wish I had a choice? Or at least have been more prepared for it.” 

“If you really don’t like them I can take them out,” Jaebum offers, but Youngjae shakes his head. 

“It’s okay,” he says. Gesturing at his casted arm, he asks, “While we’re at it, how did this happen?” 

Jinyoung clears his throat, cutting in before Jaebum manages to reply. “Look, I’m happy you two finally met and seem to be getting along, but could you do this elsewhere please? I’ve got a business to run and a client appointment in about ten minutes.” 

He then proceeds to shoo them out, but not before carefully draping the jacket over Jaebum’s shoulders and placing Youngjae’s hand on it, to _hold it in place_ , he says with a straight face that’s quickly undermined by the wink he follows it with. They’re out in the street in the blink of an eye, the door to the studio sliding shut with finality behind them.

 

The evening air is just turning chilly with fall and Youngjae rubs his palms together. With great effort too, considering the cast on his arm.

“So—”

“I—”

“You go first,” Youngjae says awkwardly. 

“I was going to answer your question about my arm,” Jaebum starts, gesturing with said arm. “But I’ve just remembered it’s a long story that is best told over dinner.”

His toothy grin is cheeky, making Youngjae roll his eyes. Jaebum isn’t half as smooth as he thinks he is, he huffs silently. Even though it doesn’t detract from his attractiveness a single bit.

“Well,” he says, drawing out the sound. “I suppose we have no choice. Since it’s such an epic saga and all that.” 

“Very epic,” Jaebum nods solemnly. “It may even take more than one dinner.” 

The laugh Youngjae is holding in breaks at that and he throws his head back, Jaebum joining in after a few moments. When they quieten, he finds Jaebum looking at him, fond. Shyly, he averts his eyes. 

“Better get it over with then. Lead the way.” 

 

Surprisingly, it does take more than one dinner for Jaebum to finish telling his story about their fractured arms, complete with evil breakdancing rivals and a loud but supportive best friend who tries to run them off with his sabre, resulting in Jaebum having to join in the fray to save said best friend. 

It takes a few more, plus a couple of coffees, for Youngjae to learn that he loves all manner of stews and soups, that he’s an only child, and that he’s an aspiring filmmaker who makes short films and posts them on YouTube. Youngjae checks them out when he gets home that night, and discovers that they’re actually pretty good. 

Jaebum then insists that Youngjae should tell him about himself too, so he takes a week of lunches at the campus cafeteria and a weekend trip to Ilsan, Jaebum’s hometown, to tell him about his childhood in Mokpo and the shenanigans he and Yugyeom, and later, Bambam, got up to while growing up. At Jaebum’s insistence, they make their way to Mokpo during the semester break so Youngjae can show him the sights. His mom falls in love with Jaebum at first sight, and seeing the way he effortlessly charms his way into her heart, Youngjae can’t help but fall a little too. 

Yugyeom and Bambam take to Jaebum fabulously, who spoils (read: bribes) them by buying them food whenever they hang out together. Youngjae tries to take his revenge by flirting his way into Jackson giving him extra coffee shots for free when they’re at the campus cafe. It backfires though, because Jackson the barista turns out to be the afore-mentioned best friend who is _more than a little afraid of Jaebum hyung's wrath, sorry dude_ , as he tells Youngjae in a secret aside. He gives Youngjae the free shots when he’s alone though. It’s something. 

He unintentionally gets his own back anyway, when Jaebum’s classmate and roommate Mark asks Youngjae if he wants to share ownership of a stray puppy he rescues, on condition that it stays with Youngjae as Jaebum apparently doesn’t like dogs. Mark is good looking and generous with his wallet so Youngjae agrees to coparenting the dog in a heartbeat, to Jaebum’s sullen displeasure. They name her Coco, and when she takes a liking to Jaebum despite him staying the hell away from her, he ends up spoiling her, too. 

A year later, when Youngjae takes out the twin bars in his cartilage, they completely close up in a few weeks. Jaebum’s stay open, even though he no longer wears anything in them. Youngjae is secretly pleased by this—he likes the fact that their ears match. 

Some time in the future, they go to Jinyoung to have identical bands tattooed on their ring fingers. As identical as Jinyoung manages to do them anyway, because he has to make two different stencils to accommodate the differences in their fingers. That night, Jaebum kisses the band on Youngjae’s hand and holds it to his heart all the way till morning. 

Soulmate or not, Youngjae wouldn’t have it any other way. 

**Author's Note:**

> this happened because my helix piercings were giving me grief (if you follow me on twitter you would have seen my endless complaints on it i'm sorry) so i had to project my frustrations through youngjae. i wish it netted me a jaebum though ngl.


End file.
